Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday morning excitement!
Well, it is now Monday so I can officially say that I have lost 5 pounds! I am so excited. Im hoping this is even more motivation for me to continue and try and lose weight. I usually weigh every Monday but I decided to get on the scale Friday and I saw that I had lost 3 pounds. But I didn't want to get too excited about it until after the weekend which is usually when I eat the worse. So now I have 8 more pounds to go to get to my first goal. Then I will be what I was when I found out I was pregnant with Talan. Hopefully at that point I will be able to wear my wedding rings. It has been almost 2 years since I've been able to wear them. And we've been married for three! I have given myself until May 15 to get there. Thats a good ways away so surely I can do it by then. We will see!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Life
I like to talk and being at home by myself all day almost every day never was my style. I'm getting used to it and actually since I had Nehemiah I prefer to stay at home now. I have found blogging to be sort of like a release of any conversing I need to get out. So....this post isn't anything specific and probably wont even interest you.
Today I have made HUGE progress on my bedroom. I even took pictures of it before I ever got started and once I'm done I'm actually thinking of posting before and after pics. This would be extremely embarrassing for me to admit how bad I had let things go but if anybody might have a mess that even comes close then it just might be the motivation or inspiration that somebody needs. I'm talking a HUGE mess. Its been harder for me to clean that half of the house because I cant keep an eye on Talan when I'm in there. So I put her in her swing since it was close to her nap time and got to work on it while she napped and watched cartoons. And I've been trying to get caught up on all our laundry. Its unbelievable how much stuff we have. We had a huge yard sale last year and now I'm going through stuff getting ready for another yard sale. We live in this really old house and there is only ONE closet. 2 adults and 2 babies....you do the math. So needless to say its hard finding places to put things. I'm getting all this laundry done and I'm running out of places to put things. So its time to go through again and get rid of what doesn't fit. Unfortunately I'm still wearing maternity pants and cant fit into hardly any of my old clothes so I'm not sure what to get rid of. I would at least like to think that one day soon I could wear normal clothes that don't have an elastic waistband.
And whats for dinner tonight? Chicken pot pie and salad. Chicken pot pie is by no means healthy but I will be eating a lot more vegetables than I would on a normal night. And I'm going to eat salad with it so I wont be eating so much of the pie.
Today I have made HUGE progress on my bedroom. I even took pictures of it before I ever got started and once I'm done I'm actually thinking of posting before and after pics. This would be extremely embarrassing for me to admit how bad I had let things go but if anybody might have a mess that even comes close then it just might be the motivation or inspiration that somebody needs. I'm talking a HUGE mess. Its been harder for me to clean that half of the house because I cant keep an eye on Talan when I'm in there. So I put her in her swing since it was close to her nap time and got to work on it while she napped and watched cartoons. And I've been trying to get caught up on all our laundry. Its unbelievable how much stuff we have. We had a huge yard sale last year and now I'm going through stuff getting ready for another yard sale. We live in this really old house and there is only ONE closet. 2 adults and 2 babies....you do the math. So needless to say its hard finding places to put things. I'm getting all this laundry done and I'm running out of places to put things. So its time to go through again and get rid of what doesn't fit. Unfortunately I'm still wearing maternity pants and cant fit into hardly any of my old clothes so I'm not sure what to get rid of. I would at least like to think that one day soon I could wear normal clothes that don't have an elastic waistband.
And whats for dinner tonight? Chicken pot pie and salad. Chicken pot pie is by no means healthy but I will be eating a lot more vegetables than I would on a normal night. And I'm going to eat salad with it so I wont be eating so much of the pie.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Talan is learning to walk!
For a few weeks now Talan will take a few steps here and there. But tonight, she walked back and forth from me to Brad. She did this for quite awhile. We got some video of it but by the time we did she had already been doing it and I think she was getting tired of it! But soon my baby girl will be walking everywhere!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Cheeseburger Soup w Dumplings
1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley flakes
4 tbsp butter, divided
3 c chicken broth
4 cupes diced potatoes
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 cups process cheese (Velveeta) 8 oz
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 c sour cream
I got this recipe out of one of my many cookbooks so to give credit where credit is due I wrote the recipe down word for word. However, with that being said I will now tell you that I omitted celery because I dont like it. I also used sliced carrots and next time I will be adding more carrots than I did. The cheese I just diced up and put in the pot until I thought I had the right amount. One block of veleveeta is like 30 something ounces so you can guess you dont need very much of it. Also when I made this I didn't have any potatoes and thats where the dumplings came in. I do recommend that if you do make the dumplings only make however many you will eat that night. They kind of took away from the soup once reheated and crumbled up into the soup and makes a weird texture. Still good but for those that different textures bother them to eat that might be one of them. For the dumplings you need one cup of baking mixAnd about 1/3 cup of milk. You add milk to the mix until you get a pretty sticky dough. Once you have cooked the soup drop the dough down into the soup and cover for about 12 minutes. Until toothpick inserted into dumplings comes out clean. These are extremely yummy after being cooked in this cheese soup.
DIRECTIONS - In a 3 qt saucepan, cook beef until no longer pink. drain and set aside. In the same saucepan saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tbsp butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatotes and beef, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or til potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream.
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley flakes
4 tbsp butter, divided
3 c chicken broth
4 cupes diced potatoes
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 cups process cheese (Velveeta) 8 oz
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 c sour cream
I got this recipe out of one of my many cookbooks so to give credit where credit is due I wrote the recipe down word for word. However, with that being said I will now tell you that I omitted celery because I dont like it. I also used sliced carrots and next time I will be adding more carrots than I did. The cheese I just diced up and put in the pot until I thought I had the right amount. One block of veleveeta is like 30 something ounces so you can guess you dont need very much of it. Also when I made this I didn't have any potatoes and thats where the dumplings came in. I do recommend that if you do make the dumplings only make however many you will eat that night. They kind of took away from the soup once reheated and crumbled up into the soup and makes a weird texture. Still good but for those that different textures bother them to eat that might be one of them. For the dumplings you need one cup of baking mixAnd about 1/3 cup of milk. You add milk to the mix until you get a pretty sticky dough. Once you have cooked the soup drop the dough down into the soup and cover for about 12 minutes. Until toothpick inserted into dumplings comes out clean. These are extremely yummy after being cooked in this cheese soup.
DIRECTIONS - In a 3 qt saucepan, cook beef until no longer pink. drain and set aside. In the same saucepan saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tbsp butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatotes and beef, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or til potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Fajita Rice with Vegetables
I made this last night for supper but since its usually just me eating I had it tonight too. I always like to find the cheapest way possible to make meals. So if ever I can make a meal and eliminate the meat I always do. Of course meat would enhance most of these meals but the bottom line is its still good enough to eat without it and I shouldn't be so spoiled to always have to have meat. I had been wanting to make fajitas but during my cleaning process yesterday my tortillas fell behind the stove. I put things on top of our toaster oven and they like to fall in the space between that and the wall. At this moment there are several things back there and Im thinking its time to pull something out to get everything out.
So.....I decided to cook my vegetables and eat it with rice. I was planning on having rice in it anyways but with the tortillas. I cooked a green pepper, yellow pepper, onion, carrots and mushrooms. Once my rice was done and vegetables tender I then added fajita seasoning and some water to my vegetables. I was originally going to serve this over the rice but I decided to just go ahead and throw the rice in and mix it all up. I could tell when I poured the seasoning pack in that it was too much seasoning so in the future I will either add more vegetables and rice or less seasoning. I then ate this with some sour cream and salsa. I think it turned out pretty good. It was an extremely hearty meal where only one bowl and I was full. It could be made even heartier by eating it in a tortilla or if you like you can of course add some meat to it as well. Im thinking of making the same stuff and trying it as a soup. Fajita soup. Sounds good to me. So that is what I had last night, tonight, and its looking like tomorrow as well. A very simple meal and it was loaded with vegetables.
So.....I decided to cook my vegetables and eat it with rice. I was planning on having rice in it anyways but with the tortillas. I cooked a green pepper, yellow pepper, onion, carrots and mushrooms. Once my rice was done and vegetables tender I then added fajita seasoning and some water to my vegetables. I was originally going to serve this over the rice but I decided to just go ahead and throw the rice in and mix it all up. I could tell when I poured the seasoning pack in that it was too much seasoning so in the future I will either add more vegetables and rice or less seasoning. I then ate this with some sour cream and salsa. I think it turned out pretty good. It was an extremely hearty meal where only one bowl and I was full. It could be made even heartier by eating it in a tortilla or if you like you can of course add some meat to it as well. Im thinking of making the same stuff and trying it as a soup. Fajita soup. Sounds good to me. So that is what I had last night, tonight, and its looking like tomorrow as well. A very simple meal and it was loaded with vegetables.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Making My List
Making lists really do work! I dont know if its just having something with everything written down and you can go down and check it off but I will be making a point to try and do this every day. Its something my mom would always do whenever we would have to spend a saturday getting our entire house cleaned and its always helped us get the job done.
Last night I decided to make a list of things to do in every single room. I ended up with several different lists actually. The main one was a list of everything I needed to clean. For example.....my kitchen list looked a something like this
wash dishes
clean off table
clean counters and stove
clean kitchen sink
clean microwave stand
sweep
mop
It had a few more things on it but I just started at the top of my list this morning and started working my way down and checking it off. I think listing every single thing is what helps the most. Instead of just making a list that tells me to clean the kitchen I have a specific list and I wont stop at just washing the dishes. Not only did it keep me focused but it also helped me feel like I accomplished something. Going down the list kept me from being able to clean off the kitchen table by piling stuff on the counter....which happens a lot around here. Now my kitchen is cleaned and hasn't been this clean since family cleaned it when we had Nehemiah.
I have a list for each room in my house. I also wrote out a list of things I needed to do today that went beyond cleaning my house. I even put on my list to do my workouts and drink my water for the day. Then I made a list of things I wanted to get done in the long run. This list includes things like deep cleaning out a cabinet and reorganizing my closet. I want to be realistic so Im thinking my goal is to mark at least one thing off that list a month. If Im able to do more than that then yay for me! Ive made lists before and its always worked but Ive never decided to try and do it everyday. Im thinking after accomplishing so much today it really is something I will probably stick to from now on.
Last night I decided to make a list of things to do in every single room. I ended up with several different lists actually. The main one was a list of everything I needed to clean. For example.....my kitchen list looked a something like this
wash dishes
clean off table
clean counters and stove
clean kitchen sink
clean microwave stand
sweep
mop
It had a few more things on it but I just started at the top of my list this morning and started working my way down and checking it off. I think listing every single thing is what helps the most. Instead of just making a list that tells me to clean the kitchen I have a specific list and I wont stop at just washing the dishes. Not only did it keep me focused but it also helped me feel like I accomplished something. Going down the list kept me from being able to clean off the kitchen table by piling stuff on the counter....which happens a lot around here. Now my kitchen is cleaned and hasn't been this clean since family cleaned it when we had Nehemiah.
I have a list for each room in my house. I also wrote out a list of things I needed to do today that went beyond cleaning my house. I even put on my list to do my workouts and drink my water for the day. Then I made a list of things I wanted to get done in the long run. This list includes things like deep cleaning out a cabinet and reorganizing my closet. I want to be realistic so Im thinking my goal is to mark at least one thing off that list a month. If Im able to do more than that then yay for me! Ive made lists before and its always worked but Ive never decided to try and do it everyday. Im thinking after accomplishing so much today it really is something I will probably stick to from now on.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Homemade Biscuits
I finally made homemade biscuits. Im sure lots of you have already ventured down this road but for me it was a first and I am pretty excited about it. It is something I have been wanting to do for a long time.
The first thing I have to say about it is that I am shocked at how CHEAP it was to do this. And on top of that it was so easy. The only downside about it (besides the mess in my kitchen) is that it was a little time consuming. Not a whole lot but with 2 babies my time is very precious and very rarely does it go without interruption. But I only used 3 ingredients and not much of them either. And how did they taste? I thought they tasted pretty good. They weren't the fluffiest biscuits I've ever eaten but I have time for that. I did learn about how thin I needed to roll the dough out because a few of the biscuits were a little thinner than I liked. When my timer went off I though they were the perfect color but I was in the middle of frying an egg and just those few seconds it took me to finish up they got a little darker than I would have liked. I ate mine crumbled up in gravy but Brad chose to have egg biscuits with his. The biscuits weren't burnt in any way but the outside did crumble very easy so his biscuit broke in half when he went to bite in it. So there are a few things I have to work on but overall I am satisfied with how they turned out and I wouldn't be bothered if they turned out like they did from here on out. You might be able to tell in the picture that one has a little character...haha. That one was from my left over dough and I have to say that it was my favorite.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The littlest joys in life
My husband is working late and calls to tell me that my cousin will probably be staying the night. Thats no big deal and in fact this isn't somebody that I care to see my messy unorganized house. I did however think that he at least needed a clean spot to sleep. Luckily, I didn't do much today but the one thing I do every do is pick up my living room in order for Talan to be able to play in the floor. So it didn't take me long to pick it back up (this is an ongoing process) and I even had a clean blanket and an extra clean pillowcase for him a pillow to lay out! Then I even thought to lay out some of Brads pajamas because I knew my cousin probably didnt have extra clothes on him. And I got to tell you.....never would I have thought something so little would give me such a sense of accomplishment. It feels good to think I at least have some things in order that I was able to do that little.
And I have now decided it is much nicer to go to bed with my living room cleaned up and ready for the next day. My usual morning routine is to feed the babies, eat breakfast and then pick up and vacuum the living room floor. I dont mind this routine but again I just feel this sense of accomplishment that I will wake up to an already clean living room and not only that, but my husband gets to come home to a clean living room. Now....if I could just get going in the other rooms.
And I have now decided it is much nicer to go to bed with my living room cleaned up and ready for the next day. My usual morning routine is to feed the babies, eat breakfast and then pick up and vacuum the living room floor. I dont mind this routine but again I just feel this sense of accomplishment that I will wake up to an already clean living room and not only that, but my husband gets to come home to a clean living room. Now....if I could just get going in the other rooms.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Updates
I never thought I would be this busy staying at home with my babies and not even schooling them yet! I dont know if Im not managing my time wisely or if I really have that much to get done. I used to never want to stay at home and now I hate leaving my house. Partly because its a lot of work going anywhere and partly because I just have things I need to be getting done. There are still those days that I just want to get out and do something.
So where are we at in life right now? Let's start with Talan. She is such an amazing special little girl. She's so smart but she has hit this stage where she is completely rebellious. You might think Im being extreme seeing as how she is only 14 months old but we know she understands what no means and she even understands when we tell her that she will get a spanking. But she will purposely look at us and continue to do the same thing while we sit there and spank her each time. She is definitely strong willed. But she is still the happiest baby I have ever seen. She isn't walking and Im ok with that. Its frustrating sometimes to hear others talk about how she needs to be walking and I should be doing this or that....etc. I know she's a smart girl and when she's ready she will walk. Who knows? God may have her holding off on walking to give me some time to get adjusted to our new life.
Now to the baby. Its hard to believe he is only 2 1/2 months old. I keep expecting him to bust out laughing at any moment. He loves to smile and coo but mostly for the time being he just loves being next to his momma. I am so thankful to be breast feeding him. In the beginning I thought it was stressful and could understand why people chose not to but I wanted to hang in there because I know its good for him. Now I couldn't imagine having to give him a bottle all the time. Breast feeding gives me more sleep and less dishes to clean! Who wouldnt enjoy that?
Brad has been extremely busy with work. He's been gone a lot. Last week he was home one night out of the week. It can make things hard but we are thankful for the work God is providing for him. And him being gone has been such a learning experience for me. Im learning what Im capable of and what some of my weaknesses are. We went out on a date last weekend and it was nice just to have some us time. We even got to make it a whole afternoon and night. We went shopping at some thrift stores then we went to applebees to use the gift card we had gotten back in november for our anniversary! Then I realized I had forgotten the battery pack for my pump so we went to the mall where I could pump. Interesting. Then we ended up going bowling where a couple met up with us. I did realize on the way home that the next time we went on a date my curfew was going to have to be much earlier. It was 10 when we got home and Im pretty sure I dozed off on the way home. And thats just a little bit of how things are coming along for now.
So where are we at in life right now? Let's start with Talan. She is such an amazing special little girl. She's so smart but she has hit this stage where she is completely rebellious. You might think Im being extreme seeing as how she is only 14 months old but we know she understands what no means and she even understands when we tell her that she will get a spanking. But she will purposely look at us and continue to do the same thing while we sit there and spank her each time. She is definitely strong willed. But she is still the happiest baby I have ever seen. She isn't walking and Im ok with that. Its frustrating sometimes to hear others talk about how she needs to be walking and I should be doing this or that....etc. I know she's a smart girl and when she's ready she will walk. Who knows? God may have her holding off on walking to give me some time to get adjusted to our new life.
Now to the baby. Its hard to believe he is only 2 1/2 months old. I keep expecting him to bust out laughing at any moment. He loves to smile and coo but mostly for the time being he just loves being next to his momma. I am so thankful to be breast feeding him. In the beginning I thought it was stressful and could understand why people chose not to but I wanted to hang in there because I know its good for him. Now I couldn't imagine having to give him a bottle all the time. Breast feeding gives me more sleep and less dishes to clean! Who wouldnt enjoy that?
Brad has been extremely busy with work. He's been gone a lot. Last week he was home one night out of the week. It can make things hard but we are thankful for the work God is providing for him. And him being gone has been such a learning experience for me. Im learning what Im capable of and what some of my weaknesses are. We went out on a date last weekend and it was nice just to have some us time. We even got to make it a whole afternoon and night. We went shopping at some thrift stores then we went to applebees to use the gift card we had gotten back in november for our anniversary! Then I realized I had forgotten the battery pack for my pump so we went to the mall where I could pump. Interesting. Then we ended up going bowling where a couple met up with us. I did realize on the way home that the next time we went on a date my curfew was going to have to be much earlier. It was 10 when we got home and Im pretty sure I dozed off on the way home. And thats just a little bit of how things are coming along for now.
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